I’ve always had a love for columns. Tall, majestic, stately and many are simply works of art. A beautiful colonnade lined with ornate columns presents a rhythmic linear feast for the eyes. Before changing majors in college, I was an architecture major and spent many enjoyable semesters studying the art of the structure. One semester we intensely studied columns, especially the Greek. Doric, Ionic and Corinthian. All three distinctive in their own rights, offering form and function with just the right amount of individual flair and flourish. But after all of that pillar panache, a column really just does one thing, support. A properly built and installed column is meant to do nothing other than bear and distribute the weight of the upper structure. But hey, you can do a job and still look good doing it right?
1 Kings chapter 7 today is a chapter that any architecture or design student should thoroughly enjoy. In it we see Solomon completing two things, the interior of the Temple of the Lord and his own personal home. It is interesting to note that it took Solomon 7 years to build the temple and 13 years to complete his own home. Solomon’s home was by far larger, more elaborate, more luxurious, and more spacious than the temple. But I guess when you have 1,000 wives you might need a little more floor space than God.
But don’t be too hard on Solomon, he did institute some snazzy upgrades into the temple. Recall that before this the tabernacle of the Lord was just that, a tabernacle, a tent. As the Israelites wandered the desert for 40 years with Moses as a tour guide, God had them establish a very specific temple in which the priests of the tribe of Judah would offer sacrifices for the sins of the people. Even though it was a tent, it would be what you’d call a very nice tent. It had an outer court; an inner court and an inner-inner court called the Holy of Holies where the Ark of God was kept. Solomon modeled the floorplan of the new temple after the old, but he doubled its size and also doubled the size and count of most of the service implements within its interior. Remember during this period sacrifices to atone for sin were still required so the temple was a working place. Animals must be slaughtered and burned, utensils must be used and washed, and bread must be brought in, displayed and then consumed. And all this required the priests to be on duty 24 hours a day, living, sleeping and eating on site. The temple would have always been a flurry of activity.
But buried in the details of the temple construction we find a powerful addition that Solomon added into the architectural details. Two details that will be the basis for our focus today.
“He cast two hollow bronze pillars, each twenty-seven feet high and eighteen feet around, with three-inch-thick walls. At the tops of the pillars he made two lily-shaped capitals from molten bronze, each 7½ feet high. The upper part of each capital was shaped like a lily, six feet high. Each capital was decorated with seven sets of bronze, chain-designed lattices and four hundred pomegranates in two rows. Hiram set these pillars at the entrance of the Temple. The one on the south was named the Jachin Pillar, and the one on the north, the Boaz Pillar.” 1 Kings 7:15, 20-21
At the center of the temple were these two massive pillars. Beautifully ornate with hundreds of carved bronze lilies and pomegranates, then festooned with carved chains and checker work around the top. At over 27 feet high and 18 feet around, they would have been amazing to behold. But beyond their beauty, they performed. They withstood and bore the great weight of the roof, giving support while pleasing the eye. What’s interesting is that these two columns were considered such an important part of the structure that Solomon saw it necessary to give them names. Jachin and Boaz. And folks, you know when names are given in God’s Word, He has a purpose for them. Let’s look at these names.
Jachin means “God shall establish.” To establish is "to set up on a firm or permanent basis.” So, the pillar on the south entrance stated that God will set up and offer you the foundation you need in this life. Folks, there is no bigger message the world needs today. Our foundation in Jesus is Salvation through His blood. It’s why He came here as a man; born of a virgin birth, lived a sin free life, was persecuted, ridiculed and tortured, and then died on a Cross only to triumphantly rise again three days later. It’s simple, no Jesus, no Salvation. But Jesus did come and because of that we can be established in a permanent eternal Salvation through Him. Today if you don’t have Jesus as your Savior and Lord, you don’t have a home in Heaven. Cry out to Jesus to save you from the penalty of your sin and He is faithful to do so. The main pillar of our lives is our Salvation. It should be the support that our entire lives rest upon. Without this as the main support of your life, your life is destined to slowly crumble and fall under the weight of your sin.
Boaz means “in Him is strength.” Folks, if you’ve ever built with Lincoln Logs (yes I’m old) you know that one pillar wont fully support the front of your roof, you need two. Yes, the pillar of salvation will support, but to have a joy-filled, peaceful life, you need balance. You need both columns. As you call upon Jesus for Salvation, you still have to walk daily in this sin-filled, evil world. A child of light walking in a dark place. For this you need the very strength of God. You see, you can’t fight this world and win on your own. You can sure try, I have, but it doesn't work. You can only hope to survive in this world as a light for Christ through His power. The strength of God will radiate through your life and allow you to complete the work He has for you. With your life built upon this second pillar, the very strength of God, you can surely walk this life in His power.
Folks, today, you need great support, structure and foundation in your life. There are two amazing pillars that are available to you. Claim Jesus as Lord and allow Him to establish your life. Allow His work upon the Cross to establish you as child of God. Allow the precious blood of Jesus to lift you up and place you on the firm foundation of His Holiness. And as you do, allow His limitless strength and power to be the second pillar of your life. When the trials and tribulations of this life threaten to dash you upon the rocks of the world, only in His strength can you find the safety you so desperately desire.
Today, don’t attempt to build your life upon yourself. The pillars of your own strength are destined to fail in the face of sin and temptation. Allow the pillars of God to be the support on which you rely. And as you do, you will be building a life that is promised to stand for eternity. Today is the day, call upon Jesus.
God bless you in your pursuit of Christ.
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